they don't warn us, but even roses have thorns
by astrangetypeofchemistry
Summary: Everything should be perfect: Marinette Dupain-Cheng is 11 years old, learning how to bake. And she's met her soulmate. But Rose's arm bears a pair of ladybug earrings, and Marinette is positive they have nothing to do with her.
1. but he who dares not grasp the thorn

When she finally meets her soulmate, Marinette realizes how obvious her tattoo is. She doesn't think fate could be more obvious: it's a detailed pink rose, every petal bright with color. It's clearly no coincidence that on her first day of collège, she eats her lunch next to a beautiful blonde named Rose, who offers her a whiff of her perfume and talks excitedly about their new school.

Marinette should be overjoyed: she's 11, learning how to bake, and has already met her soulmate. But on Rose's bare upper arm is the tattoo of Ladybug earrings.

Marinette's pretty sure those earrings have nothing to do with her.

* * *

"Is everything okay?" Tom Dupain asks of his wife, bewildered at the sight of their slumbering daughter. There are dried tears caked on her face and her breathing is deep; Tom wonders if she's cried herself to sleep.

Sabine sighs, her hands stroking Marinette's hair as she responds quietly. "She met her soulmate today."

"Isn't that good?"

She shakes her head, shooting him a small, sad smile. "Their bond isn't mutual."

Tom sucks in a huge breath at that, eyes blown wide open as he stares unbelievingly. "Are you sure? Maybe that's not actually her soulmate or maybe the tattoo signifies a later time in her life."

"Don't tell _me_ that," Sabine chuckles, but her heart isn't in it. There's a crack in her voice, as if the idea of her daughter growing up nursing heartache is too much for even her to bear. "But only time will tell now."

He takes a seat next to his wife, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing her close. "DO you remember how long it took us to realize we were soulmates?"

"A little too well, maybe. Knowing that I had your tattoo but not knowing that you had mine was agonizing."

"Thank goodness for alcohol, since it gave me the confidence to pull off my underwear right in front of you."

Sabine bursts into laughter at that, freezing as Marinette stirs. Her shoulder gently nudges Tom's, her eyes glittering with humor as she recalls the memory as well. They stay like that, comforting their daughter in her sleep until Tom walks her up to her room instead.

"She'll be okay, won't she, Tom?"

"She's our daughter," Tom responds, watching Marinette smile in her sleep. "She'll be more than okay."

* * *

Rose Lavillant's favorite favorite flowers are cherry blossoms, Marinette learns. They sit next to each other in History, and every time their arms brush together, Marinette feels electricity shoot through her veins.

This is. Her _soulmate_. The person who should love her so deeply, color drains away if she passes away. Rose was destined to be so connected to Marinette's soul, there was a permanent imprint on Marinette.

How was it possible Marinette wasn't meant for Rose in the same way? How was is possible that Rose's heart didn't flutter whenever she saw Marinette, knowing that her soulmate was so close?

How was it possible that, before she's even hit puberty, the universe is cruel enough to shatter her heart every time Rose talks about meeting her soulmate?

* * *

 **literally no offense, but if you review to tell me that you don't ship this and don't want to see it then fuck off because i tagged it appropriately. you shouldn't have clicked on this. also, updates will come. don't bug me about them.**


	2. sharp thorn produces delicate flowers

Five months after meeting Rose, Marinette realizes she hates seeing her cry.

It's not a happy discovery. Rose is smiling, talking about how romantic a first meeting of soulmates must be. Marinette ignores the pang that echoes in her heart, smiling as she stares at the sparkle in Rose's eyes. She's wearing a beautiful pink dress, making Marinette wonder how she would look in pastel blue.

 _Beautiful_ , she concludes. _Just like always_.

Her own imagination is more than enough to distract her from thinking about how her heart is stuck in her throat.

"Ugh," they hear a voice call. Rose pauses in her excitement, and she turns to find Chloe Bourgeois standing behind her, her face curled in disgust. Marinette grips the table tightly, afraid of what was about to happen. "Are you still going on about soulmates?"

Rose perks up at that, forgetting that Chloe's response would be cruel. "Don't you just think about knowing that someone out there is branded with something that symbolizes you? And that person is destined to love you with all their heart?"

Chloe scoffs, and Marinette feels her heart start to fall, knowing that something bad was about to happen. Just the day before, she'd heard Chloe insult a soulmate couple two years older, telling them their life was a sham and their relationship would fall apart.

"You don't actually believe someone would love you, do you?" she cackles, and tears begin to gather in Rose's eyes. "You're probably going to be searching for your soulmate forever, you know. They're going to see you and run to the other side of the planet."

Mylene reaches for Rose to comfort her as Chloe walks away, but Rose shakes her off, running towards the bathroom instead. With a heavy heart, Marinette swallows the " _I would never leave Rose!"_ deep down, disappointment choking her as Juleka goes after Rose instead. Marinette finds her heart weighing her down as she gets up too, throwing a shaky smile Mylene's way before heading towards their classroom.

Chloe is preening at her desk inside, and Marinette feels rage spill out of her, two minutes later than it should've.

"Why did you do that?"

Chloe turns to look at her, her eyes immediately rolling at the sight of Marinette. "Go away."

"No! You can't just go around being a- a-"

"A what?" Chloe laughs.

"A bitch!"

Silence. Chloe stares at Marinette in shock, eyes bulging out of her head and mouth wide open. Marinette trembles where she stands, knowing that she'd just used a bad word. She'd be in trouble later, she just knew.

"How dare you?" Chloe says, and her voice is trembling a little, Marinette can _hear_ it.

She runs out, away from the school and her crying soulmate, away from Chloe, all the way to the bakery. She bursts inside, startling her parents. They rush to her immediately, tender hands and gentle voices comforting her. Marinette's crying, tears flowing freely at the tattoo on her arm, and the tatoo on Rose's arm, and the tears she's seen leaking out of Rose's eyes.

Her parents are with her all night, scolding her for saying a bad word and then offering her favorite snacks.

* * *

"You're my soulmate," Marinette confesses the next day. It feels _wrong_ to, like something is desperately itching to ruin everything. The wind is off-kilter, the clouds are ominous. But Marinette's mind is replaying the image of Rose running away, and this is the first thing she can think of that can prevent it.

Rose is smiling, soft and hesitant and tentative. "How do you know?"

Marinette pulls up her sleeve quietly, letting Rose wonder in amazement at the detailed flower. Her hands reach to touch it softly, and Marinette shudders at the thrill she feels at the brush of skin.

"Do you know what the earrings mean?" Rose asks, looking Marinette in the eye, and there's hope, wonder, _excitement_ in there, glimmering with a promise Marinette isn't sure is hers to make.

"No, I don't," Marinette says, and it's an ugly truth, an admonition that _My heart belongs wholly to you but I have no clue if yours is destined for me as well_. There's a pain there, pain at being 12 years old and living with the knowledge that she might be made to live heartbroken for the rest of her life.

And it _hurts_ , it hurts _so much_.

Marinette wonders if, when the time comes, she can handle Rose finding her real soulmate.

She gets the feeling she can't.

* * *

 **the third and last update will be here soon. thank you for reading and don't forget to review, or check me out on other platforms. you can find out more on my bio.**


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